DictaNote is a Chrome Extension that allows you to create text by using a microphone. I heard about this tool from @rmbyrne on his blog Free Technology for Teachers. In a nutshell, you can use your microphone to turn your speech into text. Teaching 1st grade, I always encounter students that limit their writing because of uncertainty with spelling words correctly. Many of them are nervous about taking a risk with the tricky words. I have tried many strategies for getting these timid writers to take a risk. I have used the app Dragon Dictation to help students spell unfamiliar words. However, this was very hit or miss. Students tried talking normal, slow and even like a robot. In the end, it was very spotty with the app recognizing the word a student was saying let alone a sentence. While Dragon Dictation was hit or miss, I tried another app. We installed the Google Search app onto our iPads. Students could hit the microphone icon (Voice) below the search bar and ask, " How do you spell ______?" More often than not, Google would return the correct spelling of the word. In addition, it would speak the correct spelling of the word to you. MY PLAN My 1st graders make huge progress throughout the school year. However, we are somewhat limited on time when it comes to typing our stories, on our blogs or digital stories using Little Bird Tales. I have a lot of single finger typers. I plan to have students try Dictanote to speed up the process. I will still have them type during the year but am interested in seeing the impact of Dictanote for some of my hesitant writers. Early on in the school year, my lower readers/writers tend not to write more than a sentence. Will Dictanote help those writers extend their stories knowing that he/she will not struggle to spell the words? What do you think? Do you have any suggestions for other speech to text tools?
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Having iPads in my 1st grade classroom, I have had many parents ask about writing. Writing on a tablet vs. writing on paper? Importance of holding a pencil correctly to write? Upper case vs lower case letters? In between lines on a page or the roller coaster effect? I came across Mind/Shift's on How do tech tools affect the way student's write? I suggest reading it if you have time. It provides the positives and negatives of tech tools' impact on writing. I want to highlight a few points that I found interesting. The 2,462 educators surveyed, who were either Advanced Placement teachers or National Writing Project teachers, largely agreed that technology positively impacts students with their writing, personal expression, and creativity, and facilitates collaboration. The ability to share work with a wider audience beyond the classroom is particularly engaging, with 96 percent of teachers responding that digital technologies make it more possible. The couple words that stuck out to me were "creativity" and "collaboration." "Many teachers reported that students are more willing to offer feedback and advice to peers through a shared document." In my opinion, peer editing has more impact than a teacher marking up a paper. Furthermore, having the ability to share with a global audience lent itself to increasing engagement. One of the cons of tech tools in writing could be in regards to copyright and fair use. As pointed out by Katrina Schwartz in the article: What’s more, many teachers felt students don’t have a good understanding of fair use and copyright laws, and don’t digest complicated texts well. In both categories, more than two-thirds of teachers rated their students “fair” or “poor.” Students have difficulty discerning the original source of online content and citing it properly. However, I think the burden falls back onto teachers to ensure covering responsibilities of being a digital citizen. One reoccurring theme in the article was while there were some negatives of tech tools in writing, teachers agreed that today's students are writing more than ever before. From text messaging and Tweeting to Facebook posts--students are immersed in opportunities to take part in digital literacy. I feel that the challenge for a teacher is to determine the right mix of analog vs. digital writing opportunities during the school year. In regards to my 1st graders, I still feel it is important for them to understand the essentials of forming letters, spacing words and incorporating punctuation effectively. However, I do see that tech tools serve as a powerful tool for students to become digitally literate. It boils down to the choice that the teacher makes in regards to using the tech tool as a "tool" or as a means of enriching the learning experience. "How Do Tech Tools Affect the Way Students Write?". Mind/Shift. Katrina Schwartz, 16 July 2013. Web. 17 July 2013. Looking for a fun way to add captions to images? Phrase.it is a tool that can accomplish this for you. I learned about this tool from Free Technology for Teachers. Phrase.it provides you with three choices for getting pictures to the site in order to add captions. You can upload a picture from your device, import from Facebook or choose a random stock photo that Phrase.it provides. One of my favorite parts of this tool is the simplistic design. It is very straightforward whether using a tablet, smartphone or a computer. Once you have loaded an image, you can drag the speech bubble of your choice to bring your picture to life. You can even add more than one image at a time to create a comic strip. Below is my example that I made on my iPad. I see great potential for this tool in the classroom. My first grade classroom utilizes the Journey's Reading program provided by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. In unit 21 of this curriculum, students are introduced to adding a voice to their writing. Phrase.it would be a great tool for students to create authentic "voice" by taking their own picture and one of their friend to showcase dialogue.
Once students are done creating their "voice" using Phrase.it, they could save the image, add it to their Kidblog and share with the world. A great visual way for students to see how "voice" in writing can bring it alive for the reader. |
Andrew FenstermakerInstructional Technology Coordinator | Innovation Coach | Google Certified Innovator | Presenter | Blogger | Adjunct @UiowaEducation | Owner @kids_f_i_r_s_t |